Delhiwale: An injured foot in the big city

Rajkumar, a beggar, was walking around without slippers when he stepped on broken glass and got injured.

We could simply walk past him. That would be easy, too easy.

Rajkumar’s foot was dressed by some good Samaritans at a gurdwara. (Mayank Austen Soofi / HT Photo)

But those badly bandaged toes set us thinking. What’s happened here? We also notice two rings on his fingers, which could mean there’s a family somewhere.

Slowly opening his eyes, the gentleman introduces himself as Rajkumar, explaining that he was walking around the other day without chappals — “and I stepped on toota kaanch (broken glass).” Some good Samaritans in a gurdwarda dressed the wounds.

Mr Rajkumar goes on to say that he’s a tuberculosis patient, regularly receiving treatment at a government hospital.

But… why is he lying on the pavement?

“Well, I’m a beggar,” he explains, as a matter of fact.

Mr Rajkumar arrived in Delhi a decade ago from a village in Maharashtra where he has a wife, two sons “who work”, and elderly parents.

Why not just return to the village instead of suffering in Delhi? Wouldn’t that be more logical?

“I did go back for Diwali,” he replies, and then lifts his legs, revealing a pair of red slippers. “Somebody gave them to me this morning! May he be blessed.”

Now Mr Rajkumar closes his eyes once again. We finally walk away, marvelling at our two fellow citizens who briefly paused to care for a stranger’s injured feet.